‘Be aware’ – woman’s warning after cyber attack

A MEASHAM woman has warned people to be on their guard against hackers, after somebody got into one of her online shopping accounts and stole from her.

Josephine Savage only discovered her Tesco Clubcard account had been targeted when she went to use her vouchers at the petrol station.

The 63-year-old was told the £15 coupons had already been spent, and confirmed the crime when she logged into her account.

She said: “I want to warn people about this. My vouchers were only for a tiny amount, but for a big family it could be hundreds of pounds.

“It’s not just about them getting my money, they have got my details – my name, address, date of birth, everything.

“It has made me wary of this kind of thing.”

Mrs Savage has been told there is no way to trace the people who hacked her account, and has been advised to change her password.

But as the password was not stolen – and was instead bypassed in the hacking process – she said she was unsure if it would do any good.

A spokesman for Tesco said the issue had now been resolved.

She added: “Last year our security systems identified some irregular activity connected to a small proportion of Clubcard accounts.

“We immediately referred the matter to the police and their investigation is ongoing. We are committed to ensuring that none of our customers lose out as a result of this, and have reimbursed Ms Savage with replacement vouchers.

“We remind all of our customers to always use different passwords to be as secure as possible online, and to contact our Clubcard customer service team if they have any questions.”

The theft, last week, comes as online auction company eBay has advised people to improve security measures on their accounts after it was hit by a cyber-attack. The company came under fire for not acting quickly enough.